Stuxnet

At an Iranian military base 30 miles west of Tehran, engineers were working on weapons that the armed forces chief of staff had boasted could give Israel a "strong punch in the mouth. " But then a huge explosion ripped through the Revolutionary Guard Corps base on Nov. 12, leveling most of the buildings. Government officials said 17 people were killed, including a founder of Iran's ballistic missile program, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam. Iranian officials called the blast an accident.

The Web can feel like an endless onslaught of information. There's never enough time to take it all in. Great stories slip by unread in the constant stream of updates, alerts and notifications. After a long week of info-overload, take a moment to unwind and relax with some of the week's best reads, long-form journalism and investigative reports from newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs -- including a few stories of our own. A three-part Reuters investigation looks into Setad , a powerful organization controlled by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a gray office building across from the scenic Snake River, analysts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sift through the latest threat information on double-paneled, flat-screen computer monitors. They are not searching for rogue missile launches or terrorist plots, as other analysts do in other secure government rooms elsewhere in the U.S. Their job at the Idaho National Laboratory is to find and stop what experts warn is a growing risk to America: a cyber-attack that could disable water systems, chemical plants or parts of the electrical grid.

WASHINGTON - As part of his effort to plug leaks, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is considering a proposal to force intelligence agency employees to answer a direct question in their polygraph examinations about whether they have disclosed information to reporters, according to officials familiar with the matter. Government officials who seek top-secret clearances are subject to an initial polygraph test and periodic renewals, in many cases every five years. Currently, they are asked whether they have ever disclosed classified information to someone not authorized to receive it. But they are not specifically asked about contacts with the news media.

What do you need to disrupt nuclear facilities of your enemy? A thumb drive. Well, that and a virulent cyber weapon such as Stuxnet that works so effectively that it takes out nothing but its target in a way that is more subtle than explosive. Stuxnet, a seek-and-disrupt cyber missile enshrouded in mystery and first publicly identified in 2010, has been attributed to U.S. efforts to interfere with and slow Iran's nuclear endeavors, according to the New York Times . "You're seeing an evolution of warfare that's really intriguing," said Phil Lieberman, a security consultant and chief executive of Lieberman Software in Los Angeles.

MOSCOW - Computer virus experts at Kaspersky Lab, acting with the blessing of the United Nations, were searching for a villain dubbed the Wiper when they came across a much more menacing suspect requiring a new moniker: Flame. The malicious program left experts all but certain that a government sponsor intent on cyber warfare and intelligence gathering was behind some suspicious activity, in part because of the likely cost of such a sophisticated endeavor. "We entered a dark room in search of something and came out with something else in our hands, something different, something huge and sinister," Vitaly Kamlyuk, a senior antivirus expert at Kaspersky Lab, said in an interview Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - As part of his effort to plug leaks, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is considering a proposal to force intelligence agency employees to answer a direct question in their polygraph examinations about whether they have disclosed information to reporters, according to officials familiar with the matter. Government officials who seek top-secret clearances are subject to an initial polygraph test and periodic renewals, in many cases every five years. Currently, they are asked whether they have ever disclosed classified information to someone not authorized to receive it. But they are not specifically asked about contacts with the news media.

Fuel that would power Iran's first nuclear energy facility is being removed from the reactor this weekend because of unspecified safety concerns, Iranian officials have disclosed, a setback for the country's controversial nuclear program. A short statement late Friday from Iran's representative to the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency said fuel rods were being withdrawn from the Bushehr power plant, which has been under construction since the mid-1970s and is a symbol of pride for the Iranian government.

Iran increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in recent months despite intense international pressure and claims that a computer virus had slowed its program, a report Friday by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency indicates. At the beginning of February, according to the report prepared for the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran had nearly 8,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 3.5%, a quantity sufficient for about three nuclear weapons if further enriched to 90%. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran of seeking to develop atomic weapons; Iran contends that its program is for peaceful purposes only.

Two stories published by the New York Times, which exposed the extent of U.S. involvement in cyber attacks against Iran and the White House's secret 'Kill List,' have sparked scrutiny over the last week amid allegations that administration officials had leaked classified information for political gain. The debate continued Sunday as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reiterated calls for a special prosecutor to take charge of leak investigations and as a reporter who wrote one of the stories said he doubted that any politically motivated leaks were involved.

Two stories published by the New York Times, which exposed the extent of U.S. involvement in cyber attacks against Iran and the White House's secret 'Kill List,' have sparked scrutiny over the last week amid allegations that administration officials had leaked classified information for political gain. The debate continued Sunday as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reiterated calls for a special prosecutor to take charge of leak investigations and as a reporter who wrote one of the stories said he doubted that any politically motivated leaks were involved.

What do you need to disrupt nuclear facilities of your enemy? A thumb drive. Well, that and a virulent cyber weapon such as Stuxnet that works so effectively that it takes out nothing but its target in a way that is more subtle than explosive. Stuxnet, a seek-and-disrupt cyber missile enshrouded in mystery and first publicly identified in 2010, has been attributed to U.S. efforts to interfere with and slow Iran's nuclear endeavors, according to the New York Times . "You're seeing an evolution of warfare that's really intriguing," said Phil Lieberman, a security consultant and chief executive of Lieberman Software in Los Angeles.

MOSCOW - Computer virus experts at Kaspersky Lab, acting with the blessing of the United Nations, were searching for a villain dubbed the Wiper when they came across a much more menacing suspect requiring a new moniker: Flame. The malicious program left experts all but certain that a government sponsor intent on cyber warfare and intelligence gathering was behind some suspicious activity, in part because of the likely cost of such a sophisticated endeavor. "We entered a dark room in search of something and came out with something else in our hands, something different, something huge and sinister," Vitaly Kamlyuk, a senior antivirus expert at Kaspersky Lab, said in an interview Wednesday.

At an Iranian military base 30 miles west of Tehran, engineers were working on weapons that the armed forces chief of staff had boasted could give Israel a "strong punch in the mouth. " But then a huge explosion ripped through the Revolutionary Guard Corps base on Nov. 12, leveling most of the buildings. Government officials said 17 people were killed, including a founder of Iran's ballistic missile program, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam. Iranian officials called the blast an accident.

November 30, 2011 | By Ramin Mostaghim and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

Among the protesters who sparked a diplomatic storm this week by ransacking two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran were some clutching portraits of a surprising icon, an Iranian nuclear scientist killed in a bombing one year ago. Although it's still far from clear who exactly killed Majid Shahriari, the rioting on the first anniversary of his death highlighted anger over the Western campaign to stop Iran's nuclear program, jitters over covert...

In a gray office building across from the scenic Snake River, analysts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sift through the latest threat information on double-paneled, flat-screen computer monitors. They are not searching for rogue missile launches or terrorist plots, as other analysts do in other secure government rooms elsewhere in the U.S. Their job at the Idaho National Laboratory is to find and stop what experts warn is a growing risk to America: a cyber-attack that could disable water systems, chemical plants or parts of the electrical grid.

The Web can feel like an endless onslaught of information. There's never enough time to take it all in. Great stories slip by unread in the constant stream of updates, alerts and notifications. After a long week of info-overload, take a moment to unwind and relax with some of the week's best reads, long-form journalism and investigative reports from newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs -- including a few stories of our own. A three-part Reuters investigation looks into Setad , a powerful organization controlled by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

November 30, 2011 | By Ramin Mostaghim and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

Among the protesters who sparked a diplomatic storm this week by ransacking two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran were some clutching portraits of a surprising icon, an Iranian nuclear scientist killed in a bombing one year ago. Although it's still far from clear who exactly killed Majid Shahriari, the rioting on the first anniversary of his death highlighted anger over the Western campaign to stop Iran's nuclear program, jitters over covert...

Fuel that would power Iran's first nuclear energy facility is being removed from the reactor this weekend because of unspecified safety concerns, Iranian officials have disclosed, a setback for the country's controversial nuclear program. A short statement late Friday from Iran's representative to the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency said fuel rods were being withdrawn from the Bushehr power plant, which has been under construction since the mid-1970s and is a symbol of pride for the Iranian government.

Iran increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in recent months despite intense international pressure and claims that a computer virus had slowed its program, a report Friday by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency indicates. At the beginning of February, according to the report prepared for the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran had nearly 8,000 pounds of uranium enriched to 3.5%, a quantity sufficient for about three nuclear weapons if further enriched to 90%. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran of seeking to develop atomic weapons; Iran contends that its program is for peaceful purposes only.